While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey Through Love and Rebellion in Nepal
Seal Press, September 2014
Love and marriage brought American anthropologist Elizabeth Enslin to a world she never planned to make her own: a life among Brahman in-laws in a remote village in the plains of Nepal. As she faced the challenges of married life, birth, and childrearing in a foreign culture, she discovered as much about human resilience, and the capacity for courage, as she did about herself.
While the Gods Were Sleeping: A Journey Through Love and Rebellion in Nepal tells a compelling story of a woman transformed in intimate and unexpected ways. Set against the backdrop of increasing political turmoil in Nepal, Enslin's story takes us deep into the lives of local women as they claim their rightful place in society -- and make their voices heard.
Paperback | ISBN: 9781580055444 | Publication Date: September 2014
Reviews:
"I am fascinated and haunted by Elizabeth Enslin's story. It will
stay with you and won't let you go."
-- Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author of Into the
Beautiful North and The Hummingbird's Daughter
"If this fascinating, important story doesn't draw you into
Enslin's telling of her time in Nepal, then the beautiful, moving
prose will."
-- Kerry Cohen, author of Seeing Ezra
"A fascinating memoir written with such clarity and honesty that
it's like taking a years-long trip through a little-known part of
Nepal, far from the glamour and tourists of Kathmandu. Enslin's
story is utterly unique yet broadly representative of billions of
humans in so-called marginal places all over the world caught
between tradition, politics, idealism, human nature, the
environment, the local economy, the decidedly mixed blessings of
globalization, and the simple pleasures of food, family, and the
natural world."
-- Pamela Olson, author of Fast Times in Palestine
"This finely written memoir transports the reader into a society
on the cusp of social and political transformation. The barriers
to gender, caste, and class equality that Elizabeth Enslin reveals
continue to impede Nepal's quest for democracy today. This is an
inspiring and challenging read for activists, rebels, and dreamers
everywhere."
-- Manjushree Thapa, author of Forget Kathmandu
"Elizabeth Enslin is a daring original, both in life and on the
page. While the Gods Were Sleeping is a love story, an
adventure narrative, and an anthropological study in one, written
with a global awareness, free of the exoticism we associate with
foreigners in Nepal. Sharply observant and full of wisdom.”
-- Alden Jones, author of The Blind Masseuse
